As I was finishing a consultation over the phone Flame strode into the room. Flame is my handsome, part Himalayan cat, with medium long, cream colored hair, reddish points accentuating his lion face, ears and tail, with striking blue eyes. Around here he is affectionately known as the shaman cat. I went to greet him when something tiny caught my eye. Walking along side Flame on his left was a Granddaddy Long-Leg Spider. They walked purposefully straight towards me.

“Pay attention,” I could hear Flame saying ever so softly. I watched the graceful tiny being gliding across the floor on those delicate long legs. He was keeping up with the cream colored cat. “I have brought a friend, pay attention.”

I marveled at Flame’s friend for a few minutes. He or she was really very beautiful. As the spider got closer he/she veered slightly to my right and behind my desk. I waited a few more minutes and didn’t ‘hear’ anything from the spider so I turned off the light and left the room.

A few days later as I picked up my purse to go out, I saw a Granddaddy Long-Legs on it. “Pay attention,” I heard in my head again. Flame is not one for long explanations or long comments. He likes to simply point out things to me and then he will step back, content for me to figure it out.

I decided it was time to investigate the medicine (the lesson according to native people) concerning Granddaddy Long-Legs. The medicine of this particular spider is about deepening relationships and that now was a time of greater clarity, creativity, and knowledge. Looking deeper into a relationship helps promote harmony.

As the light bulb went off in my head, I could here Flame’s ‘voice’ again. “Pay attention, you have become so busy you do not pay attention. Nature is showing you the way. It is time to be still and deepen. Time to acknowledge what you are here for and apply it to yourself.”

I heard the shaman cat say. My objective in my communication work whether it is through leading a workshop, doing a consultation, or writing a book, is about helping others to see or hear each other’s point of view or perspective so that clarity and understanding can occur, towards the goal of living together in harmony and joy. I promote deepening in our relationships. So this fall and winter I intend on slowing down and paying attention to nature’s signals and experiencing the beauty of the deepening.

2000 © Patty Summers